An elderly couple say fly-tipping along the access route to their home is ruining their lives and attracting vermin to the neighbourhood.

John and Sandra Campion say old furniture, broken appliances and rubbish bags are dumped along Parker Street on an almost weekly basis, making access to their home at the back of Church Street, central Blackpool, hazardous and an eyesore.

The couple, who have lived in their home 14 years, say they have seen rats in the area, opposite the Salvation Army Citadel, as well as rubbish bags ripped open by cats, pigeons and seagulls leaving items like soiled nappies strewn across the street.

Now Mr Campion, 77, and his wife, 68, are calling for more to be done to prevent the fly-tipping, asking for rubbish to be more closely inspected to find the culprits or for CCTV to be installed overlooking the area.

Mr Campion said: “It’s a dumping ground. And a few months ago we found a rat on the street.

“We can’t have wheelie bins because the alleyway’s not wide enough so we leave binbags out. They’re collected on Wednesday but people leave them outside all week so cats and birds get to them.

“It’s so unpleasant, it’s unbelievable.

“It needs a bit of detective work to find out who’s dumping the bags. I don’t want to get people into trouble but it’s not right when responsible citizens are doing things right.”

Blackpool Council has said that anyone wanting to report instances of fly tipping can do so by calling the council directly on (01253) 477477.